Refrigerating apparatus



May 31 1932. J, mm; 1,861,091

I I REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 30, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 1;

May 31; 1932, J. 9. KING REFRI'GERATING APPARATUS Filed Jan. 50, 1928 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 31, J G i G REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed Jan. so, 1928" s Sheets-Sheet s Z) 3- M s ggitw May 31, 1932. J. G. KING REFRIQERATING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Jan. 30, 1928 zosf W /M/A /x ent invention is clearly shown.

Patented May 31, 1932 UNITED. STATES PATENT-OFFICE mssr. e. xme; or narrow, onro, xssieuoa TO rarernamn con'roaufon or narrow. one, A conromrron or DELAWARE p nnraremrme arrm'rus "Application filed January 80 1928. Serial No. 250,407.

This invention relates to refrigeratingapparatus and more particularly to an improved refrigerating system and improved cooling elements therefor.

It is one of the objects of this invention to provide an improved form'of coolingelement which is economical to manufacture and which has high cooling capacity within a small volume.

It is another object of this inventionto provide an improved cooling element for chilling clrculating water which mimmizes the danger of the water becoming mixed with the refrigerant in the event of accident or of failure of some part of the apparatus.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention'will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, wherein a preferred form of embodiment of the presand an end elevation, respectively, of anothenform of cooling element. 7

Figs. 6 and 7 are a longitudinal section and an elevation respectivelyof still another form of coo 'ng unit. A

Figs. 8 and9-are a longitudinal section and an end. elevation, respectively, of a fourth form of cooling element.

In refrigerating systems employing sulfur dioxide for refrigerant it is very com.- mon to have water in heat exchange relation with the refrigerant, for example, frost col lected on a cooling element, water for cooling a condenser, or circulating water to be cooled by a cooling element. In each of these circumstances there is likelihood of water getting in to the refrigerating system due to leaks, imperfect joints, or accident such as freezing of the water. This is articularly true of where there are joints in t eheat conducting path betweenthe water and the re-' frigerant. It is well known that water when H mixed with sulfur dioxide forms sulfurous acid which is highly destructive to the apparatus. Consequently care must be taken to prevent water from getting into the system.

One of the objects of my invention is-to provide a refrigerating system in which there are no joints in the heat conducting -path between the water and refrigerant so that the water can .get in the refrigerant only-thru rupture of the entire cooling element.

It is a further object of the invention to:

provide a cooling element for chilling circulating water; 111 which, in the eventof freezing of the water, any rupture will occur in such a manner as to prevent water from getting into the refrigerant.

a conventional compressor actuated by a motor 21 for circulating refrigerant thru one or more refrigerating elements 22 and '23. The

Referring to- Fig. 1, my system comprises compressor draws gaseous refrigerant from P the refrigerating elements 22 and 23 by suction or vapor conduits 24 and 25 respectively, compresses the refrigerant and delivers it to a condenser 26 where it is liquefied and from which it flows to the high pressure or liquid conduit 28, if desired thru a receiver or reservoir 29,,in which it may be stored against demand for refrigeration by the refrigerating elements. The condenser is cooled by water supplied to it by a conduit 26a. The compressor may be started and stopped by means of a switch 30 which controls the motor 21, and which may be opened and closed in response to the refrigerating demand of either or both of the refrigerating elements 22-and 23. Each of the cooling elementsin the system, including the condenser and both evaporators, that is, all parts of the system where water and refrigerant are thermally associated, are constructed in accordance with my invention as shown in Figs. :2

to 9 inclusive. Figs. 2 and-3 show one form of cooling element which includes both a condenser fol-the gaseous refrigerant delivered underffi'e'ssurafrom the compressor, and a reservoir for storing the liquefied refriger-' ant. In this figure, 40 designates a thin the cylinder. is helicallgl cylinder forms frigerant. The c linder 45 fits against the bottoms of the he forms with thecorrugated cylinder a helical walled sheet metal cglinder which is closed at each end by a hen 41 to form a container for refrigerant which is delivered thereto thru a conduit connection 42. The surface of corrugated by rolling or otherwise suita y formin ahelical groove 48 which estends substantially from one endof the cylinder to the other. Inside of the corrugated cylinder is placed a second cylinder 45 .which is open at one end 46 and is closed at theother end by a plate 47. The space between the late 47 and its adjacent head 41 forms an inlet chamber 48 for the us refrigerant and the space within the a reservoir49 for liquid recal corrugations and thus Eeassage 50 which lea s from the inlet chamr tothe reservoir 49 and directs the inco gaseous refrigerant in a length tortuous path about the condenser before it can reach the reservoir. Liquid refrigerant is withdrawn from the reservoir 49 by means of a pipe 52 leading to a connector 54\for the con uit 28 from a, point near the bottom of a reservoir.

A cylindrical shell 55 is placed around the co ted cylinder and its ends are joined to the latter, for example, by being spun over and means ofsoldered oints 56.

40 t y a soldered .joint 40b The shell 55 is also spun over the end plates 41 and is sealed to them by the soldered joints 56.1 It will thus be assarent that there is no joint which, if it she leak, will rmit water to flowinto the refrige joints of the water passage are on the outside of the refrigerant container and therefore any water eakintg thru faulty 'oints will merely flow out o the system. I a joint in the refrigerant container should leak the refrigecant may escape but since none of these joints lead into the water container no water can tem.

.Itis frequently be drawn into the refrigerating sys'-.

desirable to be able to inthe'water passages of the condensersto etect lime or scale, for exam le, where the condensers are cooled by har water or by sea waten. In such instances I prefer to circulate the refrigerant outside of the water shell defining the inner helical assage with, and counter .to

' at the other end by a plate 47' let chamber 48 and the interior helical groove the opening are sealed to the shell rantwithin the system. All of the Y Preferably and to construct the inner'shell 45 so that it may be readily withdrawn to reveal the entire surface of the water passa es. arrangement' for accomplishing this is shown in Figs 4 and 5 wherein 40' is the helically corrugated shell, 55: is the outer shell having conduit connections and 61 defining the outer helical passage 43', and 45', is the inner 50'. All of the arts above enumerate are similar to the simi arly numbered elements in Figs. 2

and 3. The ends of the shell 40' are 5 un over flanges 65 on collars 66 and are seal to.

the collars by soldered connections 67. The ends of the shell are closed by plates 68 which are bolted to the collars 66 by bolts 70 the joints being made fluid-tight b means of askets 69. The above describe apparatus orms a container to which water is supplied by a connection 72 and from which the water is withdrawn by the connection 73. Refrigerant entering the inlet connection 60' flows thru the tortuous assage 58 and is cooled and liquefied by tiie-water within the container. In order water which is in eflective thermal relation the flow of refrigerant, I place within the container a removable shell 45' which may be open atone end and closed to form an in- 50. The open end of the shell 45' abuts the to 'set up a flow of cooling one head 68, the shell being held in position by a member 74 abutting the other head. Holes 76' near the open end of shell 45' permit water to flow from the helical passage to the discharge tube 73. The member 74 serves as ahandle for withdrawing'the shell 45' from the condenser when one head 68 has been removed. Withdrawal of the shell thus exposes the entire surface of'the water pasrges to view and makes them'accessible for cleaning.

The refrigerating element 22 is a water cooler in which a helically corrugated shell 80 similar to those previously described is closed at its ends by being spun over and soldered to end plates 82 and 83. 1 AB shell 84 is disposed outside of in contact with the shell 80 so as to form a helical assage 85 for circulatin water. The she I 84 is provided with in ct and outlet connections 86 to conduct the water to and from the passage. The corrugated shell 80 forms a reservoir for liquid refrigerant which is supplied thereto by a branch of the liquid conduit 28 and is maintained at a substantially constant level therein by means of a valve 87 controlling the liquid inlet and actuated by the float 88. An

outlet connect-ionv 89 is provided for withdrawing refrigerant evaporated in the shell.

both the inlet and outlet connections are provided with shut-olf valves '90. These valvs as well as the float control mech; anism are all mounted on a plate 92 which is lib ' intended to keep the water cooler always at a temperature above 32 F. and thus prevent freezing of the water even in the event that no water is withdrawn-from the cooler for 'a considerable period of time. However, in the event of accidental freezing of the water, the arrangement is such that any resulting breakage will not establish a leak between the water passages and the refrigerant passages. If the 'oints at the ends of the'container should reak the water will merely escape but will not get into the container.

Or, if the water should freeze at some point intermediate the ends of the outer shell will burst before the inner shell forthe reason that the compressive strength of the corrugated shellis greater than the tensile strength of the outer shell. The water cooler is enclosed in any suitable insulating cabinet 95 which is provided with a spigot 96, connected to the water outlet passage 86 for withdrawing cooled water. The cooler is supplied with water by being connected to any suitable supply conduit 97.

The refrigerating element 23 is formed'of a helically corrugated shell 100 to which is secured, for example, by soldering, a cylinder 101 forming a helical passage 102. The shell 100 forms an enclosure for one or more icemaking containers 103 which are supported therein on thermally conducting shelves 104.- which may be soldered to the sides of the container 100. Preferably the rear end of the [container is closed by the back plate 105, the front being left open to afford access to the ice-making containers] The shell 101 is provided with a refrigerant inlet connection 106 and a refrigerant outlet connection 107 to which may be connected respectively acontrol valve-108 and. vapor exhaust conduct 109. The control valve admits refrigerant from the liquid refrigerant under pressure from the liquid refrigerant reservoir in response to the pressure existing in the passage 102, and thus tends to maintain a constant pressure therein. The particular construction of the control valve forms-no part .ofthe present invention, and any device which admi'ts liquid refrigerant so as to maintain a substantially constant pressure within the cooling element will suflice. For example, the valve may be constructed as shown in the application of Harry B. Hull, Serial ,No. 733,884, filed August 25, 1924. Preferably the refrigerating element, including the container 101 and the control valve 108 is disposed in a refrigerating compartment 110 of a cabinet 111 and .is supported therein by means of hangers 112 attached to straps 113 which ant in the are secured to the top of the cabinet by any suitable means. The. chillingefiect of the cooling element on the air in the cabinet sets associated with the refrigerating element 22 or by a'similar thermostat including a bellows 121 connected with a bulb 122 thermally associated with the cooling element 23. When there is a refrigerating demand upon either refrigerating element, its corresponding bellows will close the switch to operate the compressor.

Since the refrigerating element 22 is intended for cooling circulating water for drinking purposes and therefore operates at a temperature substantially above'32 F., and since cooling element 23- is intended to freeze ice and must therefore operate at a temperature substantially below 32 R, if the refrigerating demand of the water'coolcr 22 should be satisfied while there is still a de-'- line in response to satisfaction of the refrigcrating demand, and prevents further refrigeration. The particular construction of this valve forms no part of the present invention,

and it may, for example, be a valve which is I held open by high pressure in the suction line corresponding to a high temperature of the refrigerating element and which automatically closes in response to a low pressure in the suction line corresponding to the desired low temperature in the refrigerating element, as is more fully disclosed in the patent to Eddy, No. 1,185,596, filed May 30, 1916.

When the form of condenser shown in 2 and 3 is used in the system, the receiver 29 may be dispensed wit-hand the condenser connected directly with the liquid supply line 28 since this form of condenser in addition to condensing refrigerant also provides eflicient storage'space for the refrigersysteml While the form of embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope'of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows: 1. A cooling element for refrigerating systems comprising a liquid reservoirhavinga 4 v I r 1,001,001

helically corrugated wall of uniform thickness, a tubular member cooperating with the wall to form a helical'passage for circulating fluid, and a second tubular member surrounding the corrugated shell and providing a second flu'id passage.

2. A cooling element for refrigerating systems comprising in combinationa reservoir for liquid refrigerant having a'lielically cor- 10 rugated wall, a tubular member cooperating with the outside of the wall to form a helical fluid passage, and a tubular member cooperating with the inside of the corrugated wall to form a second helical fluid passage.

16 3. A cooling element for refrigerating systems comprising in combination a tubular container for liquid refrigerant, a he lically corru ted tubular member surrounding the container and cooperating therewith to form a helical passage for gaseous refrigerant and means for condensing the gaseous refrigerant including a tubular member surrounding the corrugated member and forming therewith a helical passage for circulating cooling medium,

4. cooling element for refrigerating systems comprising in combination, a helically corrugated tubular member, a tubular member surrounding the corrugated member to form a helical passage for refrigeranqa tubular member inside the corrugated member and cooperating therewith to form a helical passa e for the cooling medium, said inside tubu ar member being removable to permit'inspection of the cooling medium passages.

5. A cooling element for refrigerating s stems com risin in combination a helica y corrugate tubu ar member, means removably secured to the ends of the tubular member to form a liquid container, a removable tubular member within the container cooperating with the corrugated member to direct liquid flowing into the container in a helical path,

and a tubular member surrounding the container and cooperating with the corrugated member to form a helical passage for refrigerant 6. A'cooling element for a refrigerating system comprlsing a liquid chamber having a helicall corrugated wall of uniform thicknem, a tu ular member coo erating with the wall to form an integral uid passa e connecting with said liquid chamber, an a sec- 0nd tubular member spaced from said first mentioned tubular member and surroundin said helical wall and said first mentioned tubular member to provide a separate fluid chamber.

m In testimony whereof I hereto aflix my signature. JESSE G. KING, 

